Circular Pichvai: The Heart of Nathdwara
Designed and conceptualised by Himanshu Verma
As part of the curation for Baro Art
Pigments and mixed media on cotton
41 x 41 inches / 104 x 104 cms.
36 x 36 inches / 91 x 91 cms. (radius of painted circular area)
Executed in 2025
Edition of ten, each edition having a different colour background.
Each colour is a unique edition.
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(The work will be shipped without a frame, rolled in a tube)
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As the Pichvai form takes on a new language with experimentation, play and inclusion of multiple influences, circular Pichvais have been quite in vogue of late.
In this series of Pichvais - starting off from the image of the cartographic painting of Nathdwara - we see an immersive foray into circular details from the panoramic Nathdwara map - macro-universes that etch the architecture, landscape and religious fervour of the sacred geography of Nathdwara.
Furthermore, subsequent renditions then offer unusual compositions from within these circular macro-universes. Singular elements (temples, gopis, cows) are now isolated and the alphabet of the language emerges, against a contemporary solid colour background - allowing us to enjoy each chosen visual element - rather than placing them in the larger context of a more formally structured lexicon.
An extremely fresh, and radical reinterpretation of the Pichvai tradition, done with great sensitivity, unlike some contemporary experimentation that solely plays to the gallery without any conceptual gravitas!